I am also considering the Pro One. What was the feel like for drop shots? What was the spin potential? Did you think the gut/poly combination worked well.

I demoed the racket for a short while. I liked the balance but was not crazy about the Donnay hybrid strings.

By the way, I'm a 50 year old 4.5 player (used to be 4.0). I have a semi-western forehand and a one-handed backhand. I play an all-court game with a lot of doubles mixed in.

Thanks.

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The feel was very good but not quite to the prestiges level. I love gut/poly. I have a sensitive elbow so I can't use a full bed of poly. I hear Donnay strings are not the best although I have never used them. I am a 37 year old 3.5 player. I play and all court game with the same strokes as you. I usually play doubles due to the fact that I am a fatty!

And now that I look more closely the solincos are a much stiffer racquet ....

The solinco 10 is 68 while the Donnay is 64 and yet is more powerful . Lighter , flexier , more maneuverable . Add the customization and it's a LOT more powerful . Not to mention your choice of 16x19 or 18x20

The solinco 8 is 67 stiffness. It's stiffer than the Donnay and wayyyyy less power.

What Donnay has created is a flexible light racquet that's as maneuverable as a Kblade but as if not more powerful than a Babolat depending on how you choose to customize.

Chill out guys. I'm sure there is differences from machine to machine. I hit with the racquet again today and absolutley love it. In fact, I love it so much, I just order 2 more straight from John at Donnay. He and I talked for a little bit and he is definitely a nice guy. Which John I spoke with is anyone's guess. I think Donnay is just a victim of their own success when it comes to the Pro One. When I get the other 2 in, I will spec them out and let you know the differences between the 3. The first racquet was ordered from our friends here at Tennis Warehouse. Volley King, I owe you an apology. I now understand your enthusiasm for this racquet. Now, I need to stop reading reviews in the racquet section of this forum. You guys are breaking me and my wife is ticked off!

You matched with the wrong 6.1. You matched the BLX to the Pro Staff Series. There's no way the weights would vary from 11.5 to 12.2 inches.

The stiffness ratings from Donnay have always been strange. I understand if the measurements are different, but they should still be consistent across rackets, and they are not, particularly with the earlier X-series, Donnay's measurements seemed all over the map.

And now that I look more closely the solincos are a much stiffer racquet ....

The solinco 10 is 68 while the Donnay is 64 and yet is more powerful . Lighter , flexier , more maneuverable . Add the customization and it's a LOT more powerful . Not to mention your choice of 16x19 or 18x20

The solinco 8 is 67 stiffness. It's stiffer than the Donnay and wayyyyy less power.

What Donnay has created is a flexible light racquet that's as maneuverable as a Kblade but as if not more powerful than a Babolat depending on how you choose to customize.

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Dude, please stop, is so obvious you are connected to donnay, NO ONE kisses butt this much, I mean the racket isnt that great, so for your marketing purposes Id back off if I was you because you're not fooling anyone.

its one thing to like a racket, but you really are way over the top, so let me get this straight, you come on here just to gush about donnay?? really??? who does that??
If it was so great then how come theres only 5 people talking about it and 4 of them are clearly associated with the company?

Have you had the Donnay and the Solinco side by side??? I have; Same mould!!! same grommets (at least for the dual pro). its so obvious donnay is just using some generic mould.

Dude, please stop, is so obvious you are connected to donnay, NO ONE kisses butt this much, I mean the racket isnt that great, so for your marketing purposes Id back off if I was you because you're not fooling anyone.

its one thing to like a racket, but you really are way over the top, so let me get this straight, you come on here just to gush about donnay?? really??? who does that??
If it was so great then how come theres only 5 people talking about it and 4 of them are clearly associated with the company?

Have you had the Donnay and the Solinco side by side??? I have; Same mould!!! same grommets (at least for the dual pro). its so obvious donnay is just using some generic mould.

I now will have 3 Pro Kennex 7G's for sale and a Head Youtek IG Prestige MP for sale.

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Faithful,

Can you describe a little how it compares to the IG PMP? I'm playing with that as well and seem to be clicking with it, but have played with Donnay Plats in the recent past and enjoyed certain aspects of those as well. Was the switch to a more open pattern any problem? What other redeeming characteristics have you found with the Pro One over the PMP? Thanks.

EDIT: Just saw your response to JGads, but feel free to add anything else, like transitioning to the more open pattern; or did you acquire the 18x20?

Thanks for that. I'll email you re: the Prestige. But the P1 is now on my radar.

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Yah, you and me both (used to play with the Platts not too long ago; came close to being THE racquet for me). And also have my eye on that new PK Q Tour supposedly coming out. Damn this racquetaholism...

Sign me up on this bandwagon...........demo'd one with donnay factory installed hybrids and it was god awful. Demo'd it again with some pro super blue gear........totally different stick....

IM HOOKED............ I HAVE FOUND MY BEST NEW FRIEND!!

All the donnay haters.....they got this one right.

Ground strokes are effortless as long as you let the stick do the work and don't muscle the shot. If not, you'll fight with this thing all day.

Serves are heavy and accurate, able to move the ball around pretty easy with good spin. Flat serves really shine

Drop shots.........eh........it's SO so. Nothing is perfect and I was used the the aeropro drives ability to hit some great drops..... But, it isn't bad and I'm sure with a few more months.....can adjust.

Put aside the looks, this racquet is the good stuff. Bought a used one from the boards and I'm sure a few more will follow.

I haven't had this much good stuff to say about a racquet in a while.......and I've tried a lot. Was a pro one user back in the day and when donnay came back, wanted to like the racquets so much, but they just fell short. Not anymore

Sign me up on this bandwagon...........demo'd one with donnay factory installed hybrids and it was god awful. Demo'd it again with some pro super blue gear........totally different stick....

IM HOOKED............ I HAVE FOUND MY BEST NEW FRIEND!!

All the donnay haters.....they got this one right.

Ground strokes are effortless as long as you let the stick do the work and don't muscle the shot. If not, you'll fight with this thing all day.

Serves are heavy and accurate, able to move the ball around pretty easy with good spin. Flat serves really shine

Drop shots.........eh........it's SO so. Nothing is perfect and I was used the the aeropro drives ability to hit some great drops..... But, it isn't bad and I'm sure with a few more months.....can adjust.

Put aside the looks, this racquet is the good stuff. Bought a used one from the boards and I'm sure a few more will follow.

I haven't had this much good stuff to say about a racquet in a while.......and I've tried a lot. Was a pro one user back in the day and when donnay came back, wanted to like the racquets so much, but they just fell short. Not anymore

Ps- I don't work for donnay

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Glad you liked it. I agree with you I did not like the pro one for droppers either.

My question is why would anyone HATE a racquet? It an inanimate object.

I think I figured it out .....it's has to be Vantage people.

Put yourself in Vantage shoes....they are threatened and very defensive .

I mean seriously Vantage isn't even sold on TW , they have like no ads and no pros who use the racquet.

So how do they advertise? They have to pay a bunch of people to go on these boards raving about Vantage because they have no other way to promote the stick .

I have never seen anyone this belligerent towards a racquet in my life . It's not normal.

Glad you liked it. I agree with you I did not like the pro one for droppers either.

My question is why would anyone HATE a racquet? It an inanimate object.

I think I figured it out .....it's has to be Vantage people.

Put yourself in Vantage shoes....they are threatened and very defensive .

I mean seriously Vantage isn't even sold on TW , they have like no ads and no pros who use the racquet.

So how do they advertise? They have to pay a bunch of people to go on these boards raving about Vantage because they have no other way to promote the stick .

I have never seen anyone this belligerent towards a racquet in my life . It's not normal.

If you don't like a stick fine....go away and don't read the thread .

This is just so unbelievably transparent .

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Dude, you were doing great for the first two sentences. Then you just HAD to start in on it again. Really? That Vantage guy hasn't commented in, what, two days now? If this Donnay is that good, then let it speak for ITSELF; you don't have to defend it against Vantage or any other brand, EVERY DAMN TIME! Really, you don't! Let us try it out for ourselves; we'll be happy to ask you or others questions about it if we have them, ok? You actually have some decent experience to share given your amazing history with playing with this and other Donnay racquets. But, that experience and your credibility, gets lessoned and cheapened every time you start stating things such as beyond your second sentence above. Folks are trying this stick out and sounds like a number are liking it; so don't cheapen that experience with all the other unnecessary drivel, ok? I'm looking forward to trying it out myself!

Yah, you and me both (used to play with the Platts not too long ago; came close to being THE racquet for me). And also have my eye on that new PK Q Tour supposedly coming out. Damn this racquetaholism...

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Dude, we're racaholic twins. I played briefly with the Plat 94 (gave it up bc it was too dull feeling, and too stiff). And that new Q Tour is just crazy intriguing. I'm a total PK head, so I'll have to check it out whenever it does arrive.

Glad you liked it. I agree with you I did not like the pro one for droppers either.

My question is why would anyone HATE a racquet? It an inanimate object.

I think I figured it out .....it's has to be Vantage people.

Put yourself in Vantage shoes....they are threatened and very defensive .

I mean seriously Vantage isn't even sold on TW , they have like no ads and no pros who use the racquet.

So how do they advertise? They have to pay a bunch of people to go on these boards raving about Vantage because they have no other way to promote the stick .

I have never seen anyone this belligerent towards a racquet in my life . It's not normal.

If you don't like a stick fine....go away and don't read the thread .

This is just so unbelievably transparent .

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Dude. Seriously. You're the one who keeps bringing up Vantage out of nowhere and then bashing them. You even created a thread pinning Donnay against Vantage, with a poll, and when people voted mostly for Vantage and stated their case, you claimed they were 'plants' and went crazy about how much better Donnay was and about how Vantage was threatened and suddenly worthless. ... The thread got so crazy, the mods rightfully deleted it. ... Unsatisfied, you then immediately resurrected an ancient Vantage vs. Donnay thread from long ago and tried to start up the argument up again.

Respectful debate and useful comparisons/INDIVIDUAL experiences can be very helpful to many people here. But not unabashed, repetitive fanboy-ism.

With the Donnay frame, they're foam-filled as well so the feel is solid,
I
The thinness of the Donnay frame makes it so darn maneuverable that it slices like an absolute DREAM and pretty much anything to do with spin - kick serves, especially - you just can't ask for anything better. The thin beam makes these frames move so much lighter through the air than you might expect, given their weights. Flat serves are also beastly.

So that's my take from my own experience. very worthy company making quality frames.

Another convert ! Welcome to the Club JGads proud of me skeeter...think I handled that to your standards?):

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Nice try to go back more than a year to dig up one of the million 'honeymoon' periods I've had with different frames, to try and prove a point. And I saw your first post before you deleted it in which you told me 'it's over, move on.' You should have stuck with that, and you should have followed that advice yourself long ago and just post your thoughts on your beloved Donnay frames. Instead you're now again threatening to derail what was once a useful thread and discussion about The Pro One with another catfight. Stop.

You could have also dug up my later posts about the Dark Red, like when I complained that despite its positives, I just couldn't get to liking the flimsier, softer 'feel' of that frame, and how that honeymoon period wore off like all of my many others. Hence, the For Sale thread I also posted with the Dark Red later on, but no, you chose to ignore those and post my honeymoon phase write-up so as to pick a fight to prove a point, or falsely make it seem like I'm a donnay 'convert' now and you're right once again.

Again, this is the wrong way to make your point. Stick to the Donnay Pro One because that's what this thread is supposed to be about. More nonsense and this thread will be deleted by mods, too, erasing useful info about the Pro One that was started by Kal-El.

And add me to the list of folks about to abandon this thread due to Volley King's incessant pattern of conjuring up baseless attacks against well-meaning posters; JGads and Klementine come to mind, though I noticed VK's attacks against them were deleted by the Mods today (thankfully; don't need that kind of trash). I'm not a huge poster on these boards, but the posts from JGads and Klem on other threads have been hugely informative and interesting. They deserve much better than the treatment they got (and others as well) on this thread by VK.

So, while Kal El started an informative thread on what looks to be a great racquet, and others like Suppawat have posted some solid info on their experiences with it, I'm afraid that most of us who are interested in this stick are going to go elsewhere as long as VK continues to post here. It's just not worth it.

I haven't commented in this thread yet and I hope we can get back on topic.

I have a question:

I wanted to demo the P1 when I was back in the states around new years, but the demos at TW went fast. I'll try a demo when I can but for now I'm stuck reading about it.

I'm currently using a Youtek Prestige Pro. I like the stick a lot. Does anyone use both? Please share your thoughts.

I'm probably about a 4.0-4.5 player. I love the YTPP but sometimes I feel like I play more of a 'power game' than is suited to the YTPP. I also have a Head Extreme MP that is strung with kevlar for when I really want to hit hard and spin. My only complaint with the YTPP is that the top of the string bed can be a little dead.

It seems like the P1 might suit my style a little better. Any thoughts, especially from someone who has experience with the YTPP.

I used the Original Donnay Pro One in high school and the head pro tour 280 in college. I have used the X-blue 99 since last summer.

I love the muted, rock-solid feel, and plow of the x-blue. Since they stopped making it, I figured I'd try the new pro one.

What a let down. All power. No Control. Frame felt "pingy" and unstable. It sounds like a tin can when I hit the ball. It reminded me of all of the garbage racquets Head has on the market these days. Much too light and stiff to be considered a players frame and after trying every possible weight configuration, I figured, "why bother."

I just got an x-platinum. Hopefully it feels closer to the x-blue. Otherwise it's back to hunting for a new stick.

Maybe I'll have to go old school and get some PT280s off of **** or a Kennex Type C Redondo. I also never got to try the TW version of the Donnay Pro International

Can anyone compare the head size to a 98 or 95? I vaguely remember that this racquet shared the same mold as a Dunlop AG 300, don't quote me on that though. Calling the racquet a "97" seems like it is just a marketing gimmick to differentiate it.

I used the Original Donnay Pro One in high school and the head pro tour 280 in college. I have used the X-blue 99 since last summer.

I love the muted, rock-solid feel, and plow of the x-blue. Since they stopped making it, I figured I'd try the new pro one.

What a let down. All power. No Control. Frame felt "pingy" and unstable. It sounds like a tin can when I hit the ball. It reminded me of all of the garbage racquets Head has on the market these days. Much too light and stiff to be considered a players frame and after trying every possible weight configuration, I figured, "why bother."

I just got an x-platinum. Hopefully it feels closer to the x-blue. Otherwise it's back to hunting for a new stick.

Maybe I'll have to go old school and get some PT280s off of **** or a Kennex Type C Redondo. I also never got to try the TW version of the Donnay Pro International

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THANK YOU! a real effing review! and I pretty much felt the same... My old PT280 with some fresh Tourbite... theres no comparison.

I don't think it is exactly the same mold as my AG300. When I put pro one above AG300, it is indeed smaller. However, faithfulfather is right about the comparison between prestige mp and pro one, almost identical. I think I read somewhere that the pmp should be 95.

The 2 Jons from Donnay may be good but be careful about the quality of service. I had the demo and I called about a delay in returning the racquets. Jon (dunno which one) told me so long as I called and notified them, it'd be ok to send it back a bit late. I told him it'd be 1.5 weeks late and sent the racquets back. Then they tell me no refund because it was late and the guy meant only less than one week late. So I was stuck with $450 worth of credit (originally they offered 50% refund). Then when the P1 came out, I asked about using the store credit. The racquet was $299 on the Donnay website and advertised on TW and other places @ $199. My bad luck except a few days after I ordered it, they dropped the prices to $229 but won't credit me.
I'm not saying they did anything wrong, but customer service and building goodwill isn't something that's high on their list.

The P1 is a powerful racquet, but hardly a player's stick (at least imho) with respects to control and feel.
It's not the most maneuverable stick and touch requires a lot softer hands than I have off the volleys. Slice dinks and short cross court slices are difficult to get right because of the power and lack of feel.
Of course, individual skill level and subjective demands make this sort of review difficult to be standardized and a test is the best.
I haven't found the best string tension yet. My stringer messed up and put the cross knot on the main instead. I didn't think it'd be a big deal but the string bed felt terrible on some hits.
I'm a 5.5 all courter with single backhand and play an attacking power game. I've had to adjust my service motion to minimize the knee injury and went to a more powerful racquet to compensate for the power loss. I knew there'd be a loss of touch and feel. Still I'm not totally sold on the P1.
The racquet itself isn't what I'd consider a "consistent" frame, in that the power levels can surprise a full swinger like me, especially on the shorter balls. I'm only playing 3-4 times a week with this racquet now and still mix in the K90 because I miss the feel, which probably ruins the rhythm more!

The stick is very string dependant.....if you are getting a "pingy sound"......what string are you using? I do not get that with the pro supex Ultra spin 17, but did so with some others like alien. Lack of power???? Must be the string and tension as this stick has a ton of juice!

When I first demo'd it with donnay strings, I hated it.......you must try it with a good set of strings.... I found that a rough, textured poly works quite well at the 55-57 range in this stick.

Compare to the youtek prestige mp I used to use, it play similar with the exception that you do not have to produce as much power and "arm it" for put-aways. If you swing loose and let the racquet do its thing, you'll be rewarded.

But like many other racquets I have tried........one that's great for one is terrible for another.

I have a hybrid setup with VS gut mains and Dunlop Black Widow Crosses both strung at 56.

My major issue is the starting pickup weight of the stick. In stock form, the stick doesn't have the plow or stability to hang in against heavy hitters. Once I added the weight. It had too much power...probably because of the stiffness rating.

For me, strung weight needs to be around 350g (strung) for a stick to feel "right" in my hand. To get this racquet there, I'd have to use the 10g cap and 3 sliders. The problem is, when you load all that on the racquet, the balance feels off. So then I am stuck with pulling out a ton of lead to put evenly around the hoop, instead of the sliders.

As I pointed out earlier , I actually found the racquet to be pingy as well. It did not have the feel of the other Donnay sticks.

Having said that the 18x20 version was not pingy at all and also had far less power and far more control .

.

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I would be afraid that the "Duo Pro" of last summer that has the better feel will be abandoned and the "Pro One 18x20" will simply be a pro one 97 redrilled. The customers that buy the 18x20 that comes out will likely never know about the Duo Pro (or its ridiculous price tag)

It has been determined that the Duo Pro and the Pro One 97 are different molds, so who knows what they are going to put out.

And as far as quality control, I could tell something wasn't right with one of my X-blues and found a 10g difference in weight between them. The lighter of the 2 is the proper spec, so I am going to check the other for lead under the bumper.

I would be afraid that the "Duo Pro" of last summer that has the better feel will be abandoned and the "Pro One 18x20" will simply be a pro one 97 redrilled. The customers that buy the 18x20 that comes out will likely never know about the Duo Pro (or its ridiculous price tag)

It has been determined that the Duo Pro and the Pro One 97 are different molds, so who knows what they are going to put out.

And as far as quality control, I could tell something wasn't right with one of my X-blues and found a 10g difference in weight between them. The lighter of the 2 is the proper spec, so I am going to check the other for lead under the bumper.

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Really ? I didn't know it was determined to be different molds?

John at Donnay told me that the pro one 18x20 is simply a dual pro with a paint job. I suppose he could be lying but in the past I have found him to be pretty truthful.

I don't blame you about the discontinuing gripe. It Pisses me off as well.

Now about this "pingy" feel of the 16x19 version ...again I absolutely agree with
You . I didn't like it at first....but then as I played more with it I actually liked the feedback because I could feel the ball more.

The racquet absolutely is "pingy", I was criticized for saying that but it's very true.

For me though it's not such a horrible thing .....I actually surprisingly liked the feedback and I LOVE the power level.

I had said it had the power level of a Babolat which also bothered some people but it truly does. I'm a former Babolat user and that's why I like it.

Coincidentally Blake is a former Babolat user and also likes the Pro One.

The 18x20 version just makes a huge difference. I never knew that the string pattern of a racquet can make such a difference . It's like two completely different racquets .

It's cool that you can choose either patterns.....I've rarely seen a stick offered in two patterns.....or am I wrong about that?

I thought it was decided that the beam on the "Blake" version from last summer, the Duo Pro, had a boxier beam.

The pingyness is not an issue as long as it doesn't turn into arm pain. The weight vs. power is the issue for me. I need to go stick with more flexible frames and 16x18 or the rare 16x20 usually feels better to me. The reason I don't use the pro tour 280 anymore is that I found it hard to kick my second serve. And if there is one stroke I need to be totally confident with, it's the second serve.

I thought it was decided that the beam on the "Blake" version from last summer, the Duo Pro, had a boxier beam.

The pingyness is not an issue as long as it doesn't turn into arm pain. The weight vs. power is the issue for me. I need to go stick with more flexible frames and 16x18 or the rare 16x20 usually feels better to me. The reason I don't use the pro tour 280 anymore is that I found it hard to kick my second serve. And if there is one stroke I need to be totally confident with, it's the second serve.

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I have both sticks and they look exactly the same to me....but I'm only using the naked eye. Maybe measurements may be different ?

Yep, that frame mold looks the same as the 16x18. Thanks for the pics. I stand corrected.

Odd how they feel so different. What most people call feedback, I call vibrations. I like a nice muted "THUD" when I hit the ball.

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It is odd.

I suspect that the the racquet was made to be 16x18 originally.

Blake probably signed with Donnay and asked for a racquet with similar power to his Babolat. So Donnay tried to simulate the power level and string pattern of Blakes Babolat for him .

They simply drilled less holes . The result was a racquet with the power level of a Babolat but the maneuverability of a thinner frame and smaller head.

The only downside is that such a thin frame and smaller head can't support the power of a Babolat as well as a thick beamed Babolat . Thus you get that pingy feeling .

But it's a compromise I'm willing to take. The transition from my Babolat to the pro one 16x19 was seamless. I now have a more controllable stick with no loss of power . I'm winning more and my level of play has gone up quite a bit. The only downside is that pingy feel.

The 16x18 version however plays with much less power and much more control and has that "thud" feel you speak of . The 16x18 I suspect is what the racquet was meant for......but I can't win with it because I'm not good enough for it.

If that pingy feel of the 16x19 version were fixed it would be perfect for my level. I guess you can't have eberything. I'll take the pingy feel and win my matches. It's a good deal for me......may not be for you though.